[door opens]
Oh, Spii-iike? Are you in here?
Hellooooo? Spike?
Mm-hmm.
Oh! There you are!
I was starting to think you weren't here.
I realize this is last minute,
but I've decided on a quick trip to the Gem Cave!
I am on an urgent mission to find
some facetted iridescence for my new design
and I can't think of anypony I'd rather have along
than my favorite basket holder slash body guard.
Spike.
Spike!
Spike?
SPIKE!
[thud]
Wha? Oh. Hey, Rarity.
Honestly, Spike.
It's almost as if you haven't been listening.
[whoosh]
Oh, uh... of course I was,
but just to be sure,
could you say it all again?
I was saying that I planned on visiting the Gem Cave and--
Spike: Oh, no!
Is that the time?
Ah!
♪ [bustling music] ♪
Of course, you're right.
This is a bit of a late start
and those gems won't pick themselves!
Uh-huh.
[doors bang open]
But the real question is which basket do you want to hold.
The smaller one, right? Ah ha ha ha.
Oh, right. Sorry Rarity, can I take a rain check on...?
What was that again?
The Gem Cave?
Right. Sounds great,
but I need to get to the post office before noon.
Ha ha! All right. Very funny.
Obviously, you'll get the bigger basket and I sh-
Spike?
Hello?
♪ My little pony, my little pony ♪
♪ Aaaahhh ♪
♪ My little Pony ♪
♪ I used to wonder what friendship could be. ♪
♪ My Little Pony ♪
♪ Until you all shared its magic with me. ♪
♪ Big adventure! ♪ ♪ Tons of fun ♪
♪ A beautiful heart! ♪ ♪ Faithful and strong! ♪
♪ Sharing kindness ♪ ♪ it's an easy feat ♪
♪ And magic makes it all complete! ♪
♪ To have my little pony ♪
♪ Do you know you're all my very best friends? ♪
♪♪
I don't understand.
For as long as we've known each other,
Spike has never turned down an opportunity to join me here.
It's his favorite place!
[clatter]
Ideally, you catch the gems, dear.
And for a trip to the post office of all places!
[clattering]
Maybe you should move closer?
And why would Spike need to go to the post office at all?
He sends mail by breathing!
Breathing, darling! Breath mail!
[clattering]
Honestly, Applejack, if you're going to fill in,
you could make an attempt to hold the basket
the way Spike would.
And how's that?
Well, for one thing, Spike knows how to keep things quiet
so as not to waken the bats.
[chittering]
And he usually follows me closely,
so no gem ever touches the ground!
[gasp]
Rarity, Spike's been following you closely
since he got to Ponyville.
And in case you hadn't noticed...
I ain't Spike!
[chittering]
Come on now!
Actually, Applejack, I had noticed.
[clatter]
Um... hi, Rarity. What's up?
Agh!
Besides my mane? Well, that is a question for Spike!
Oh. Well, Spike isn't here. I think he's at the post office.
[dragging sound]
Again? What is it with Spike and the post office?
Rarity, what's going on?
Spike declined my invitation to the Gem Cave
and I intend to find out why.
Hmmm. That doesn't sound like Spike.
Did you two have some sort of fight?
A fight? Goodness, Twilight!
What in Equestria would we fight about?
I've had arguments with friends before
and they can put a real strain on friendships.
Well, certainly, but I think I'd remember
if we had an argument.
Maybe you didn't realize it.
Do you think you could have done something
that unintentionally hurt his feelings?
Well, if I didn't realize what I did,
how would I know what I have done when I did it?
I wonder if that's it.
It certainly would explain his behavior. I must apologize!
For what?
Oh, pfft that's hardly the point! Poor Spikey Wikey!
This calls for a grand gesture!
OK. Good talk.
[groan]
[crash]
[slam]
Wow. That's a big crate of stuff you're mailing.
I'm not mailing it.
Then why are you pushing it into the post office?
Oh! I didn't realize Griffins worked
at the Ponyville Post office.
Oh! No! I don't work here, exactly.
I'm the official mail carrier of Griffonstone.
Gabby Griffon. Nice to meetcha!
Yes, well, these things aren't for sending.
They're for apologizing to Spike.
Oh. Spike was just here. He went to go make us a-
That's perfect! It'll give me a chance to practice.
You stand there and tell me
if I hit the right apologetic notes.
What are you apologizing for?
Darling, I don't see why that matters.
[crash]
[pop pop]
[spotlight clicks on]
♪ [sappy music] ♪
And that is why I simply cannot bear the thought
of having hurt you!
[melodramatic blubbering]
And even though I don't know what it is that I did,
I want you to know that it doesn't matter
because I'm prepared to do anything to make it right.
[thud]
And scene.
[unintelligible squeaking]
Oh, sorry, dear. Here.
I said, that sure sounds genuine.
Well, of course it sounds genuine! It is genuine!
Spike: Rarity?
What are you doing?
Obviously, I'm working on my apology to you, Spike...
I don't know how I could be MORE genuine I mean... SPIKE!
[spotlight clicks on]
♪ [sappy music] ♪
Oh, Spike, I am so sorry. Please forgive me.
YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE ME! I don't know what I did
or why you're mad at me;
just please say you forgive me! Please!
Of course, I forgive you.
But, uh, what are you apologizing for?
Why does everypony keep harping on that!
Wait. Don't you know?
No. I'm not mad at you about anything.
But-but I don't understand. If you're not upset with me,
why in Equestria would you refuse to go to the Gem Cave?
Uh, because I had other plans?
[crash]
With me!
[gasp]
I don't understand. You two know each other?
Gabby and I are sort of pen pals.
Yeah. There was this whole thing where I pretended
to get a cutie mark because Griffons don't get cutie marks
so Princess Twilight had Spike send a bunch of letters off
to Griffonstone about the first Griffon ever
to get a cutie mark, which I really didn't have.
Gabby wrote back explaining things,and after that,
we just started writing back and forth.
Turns out we have a lot in common!
We both come from cultures
that don't have the friendliest of reputations.
And we're both in the message-sending business.
Uh huh!
[splat]
I sure wish I could send scrolls with my breath!
[goofy laughter]
Ah-ha yes.
Now I understand why you didn't come to the Gem Cave.
Having a friend in town is a rare treat.
Look, since you're busy today,
maybe we can do something tomorrow. Fabric shopping?
I know how you love to pick out the colors.
Actually, now that there's a Griffon at Twilight's school,
Gabby's here all the time.
Grandpa Gruff asks for a lot of updates
about how Gallus is doing.
Speaking of which, I'd better get going.
I'll fly with you.
Well, all right. You two fly along.
I'm sure Spike and I can do something some other...
time?
♪ [sad music] ♪
I cannot decide which shade of purple is the most royal!
And there's the pink! How will I ever choose?
Too bad Spike's not here.
I bet he could help you narrow it down.
[grunt]
He is a good sounding board, isn't he?
♪♪
♪ [upbeat music] ♪
♪♪
[clatter]
♪♪
[machine humming]
Could you bring the pin cushion a little closer, dear?
I suppose now that Spike's always so busy with Gabby,
I'm just now realizing how much his presence
has meant to me over the years.
Even closer, darling. I don't want to prick you.
I have to admit everything feels a bit
'less than' without him.
Too close!
[thud]
Oh, darling, it's no use. Thank you for trying.
I'm just accustomed to the help
of a small, highly attentive dragon.
Maybe you should let Spike know how grateful you are
for everything he's done for you.
[snoring]
Agh!
Oh, I am sorry, Spike. I didn't mean to frighten you.
Rarity? What are you doing here?
Well, I realize it's late, or rather early,
but I have a surprise
and I just couldn't wait to share it.
The Great Gem Crevasse of the Crystal Mountains!
[click]
Whoa.
It is only accessible once a year
and I thought a little day trip would make a wonderful
thank you for all the help you've given me
over the years!
Oh. But I'm supposed to meet Gabby today for her rounds.
I see. Well, there's always next year.
You know what? I'll just write her a note.
Are you sure?
Absolutely.
[train chugging]
[hiss]
Wow. Rarity. You weren't kidding.
The Gem Crevasse was amazing!
I'll be snacking on these for a week!
What did I tell you?
Gabby: Hey, Spike.
Gabby! You won't believe where I went today!
Actually, I think I will. I got your scroll.
The Great Gem Crevasse sounds a lot better
than doing my rounds.
Mm hm.
Whoa! It was definitely better.
I gotta get back to Griffonstone,
but you have to tell me all about the Crevasse tomorrow!
Absolutely!
Thanks again, Rarity. What a great day.
OK. Start from the beginning
because I wanna hear everything!
Well, to get to the Crevasse,
you have to climb across a rope bridge
because the air's too thin to fly.
That is amazing! Then what?
[thud]
Whoa!
Sorry, Rarity.
Oh, no apology necessary, Spike.
In fact, I was just looking for you.
You were? Why?
Because I just acquired these.
Passes to Power Ponypalooza? For today?
Mmmm. I know we just went to the Crevasse,
but I feel I've barely scratched the surface
of expressing my gratitude for all you do.
Of course I wanna go, but that'll be two days in a row
we haven't hung out.
Are you kidding? It's Power Ponypalooza. You have to go!
And now you'll have two things to tell me about!
OK. Come on, Rarity, let's go!
♪ [melancholy music] ♪
Whew. Are my claws sore.
Indeed. I had no idea how much walking there is
at a Power Pony convention!
[grunts]
I know I told Gabby we'd hang out tomorrow,
but I might need the whole day to rest.
Ooh! I know what you mean.
Perhaps you could, uh just send her another note.
[grunts]
I think maybe you're right.
Honestly, I might need to spend tomorrow
putting my hooves up as well.
Ha ha!
♪ ♪
[knocking]
I hadn't counted on Power Ponypalooza
being quite so draining, but I thought we might
spend the day recuperating together.
No way! Ogres & Oubliettes?
Well, I know how much you enjoy it,
and this seemed like the perfect opportunity
for you to teach me the game.
♪♪
Spike? I got your note. I figured I'd come by
before my rounds with a bowl of energizing turnip soup.
♪♪
[distant laughter]
Can Princess Shmarity use her Shield of the Coiffure
to defend herself from the purveyor
of poor color coordination?
She can try.
Success! Shmarity's shield holds against
the Green-Eyed Monster's attack and then...
Spike?
Oh, hi, Gabby. We were just...
Your scroll said you were too tired to do anything today,
but I guess you were just too tired to do anything with me.
No, no, no, no. That's not true.
I can come with you on your rounds right now.
I don't think so, Spike.
Maybe I'll just handle the rounds on my own from now on.
[clunk]
Ooh! Princess Shmarity uses her Prismatic Beam
to change that poor monster's color
to a more pleasing shade of purple!
♪♪
What do you think, Spike? Solids or prints?
Prints, I guess. You already have a lot of solid colors.
Oh, you are so right. Prints it is.
So nice to have you back, Spike.
Although I hope you're able to reconcile with Gabby.
I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to.
♪♪
I quite enjoyed our day together, Spike.
Yeah.
Hi, Spike.
Uh-huh.
Hmm. I've never seen Spike this sad before.
Do you know what happened?
Yes, well, perhaps he's still just tired
from Power Ponypalooza.
I don't think that's it.
I suppose it's possible
it could have something to do with...
Gabby not wanting to spend time with him anymore.
What? I thought the two of them were hanging out all the time.
They were! Honestly, it took everything I had
to convince him to spend any time with me at all.
But between crystal gem crevasses,
Power Pony conventions and a marathon game of O&O,
I managed to get some time in.
It sounds like you made sure he didn't have any time
to spend with Gabby at all.
What? Pfft! I certainly did not.
Well, I suppose I may have monopolized him a teeny bit!
[sigh]
I've just grown so used to having Spikey-wikey around,
I wasn't prepared for how much I'd miss him when he wasn't.
Friendships change,
but just because Spike made a new friend
doesn't mean he stops being yours.
I know, but now I have to share him!
Which I suppose I'll have to get used to...
Right after I fix this mess I've made.
Good talk.
[sigh]
[door opens]
Rarity? Is all this stuff for Spike again?
Wouldn't it be easier to just give it to him?
And why are you even here?
I am here to apologize. Actually, more to confess.
And all of this stuff isn't for Spike.
It's the evidence against me!
Evidence? For what?
For my acts of utter selfishness!
I don't understand.
These are the items I used to lure Spike
into spending as much time with me as possible!
They are? You did?
Spike: Rarity?
What are you doing?
Well, obviously I'm apologizing to Gabby
so the two of you can renew your friendship, Spike...
Now please, even if you can't forgive me
you simply must forgive... SPIKE!
Oh, I actually owe you an apology too.
You apologize a lot.
I wish I didn't need to,
but the more time you two spent together,
the more I missed my time with Spike
and the more I used every means at my disposal to get it back.
I am truly sorry.
You really missed spending time with me?
Oh! Of course!
I have to say, after not hanging out with you,
I understand why. You're kinda awesome!
And I know what it's like to miss that now too.
So, do you think maybe we could start hanging out again?
Absolutely.
I don't suppose you'd like some company
on your rounds right now?
I sure would!
Wonderful! I can't tell you how pleased I am
that the two of you have...
[laugh]
reconciled.
I suppose Twilight is right. Friendships do change.
[clatter]
Of course, Spike and I will always be friends
and I can get used to sharing him.
Ooh ooh!
Sorry! I just didn't want to drop another one
and wake the bats!
Darling. Catching the gems is what the basket is for.
Spike: Wow. You two need to be a lot quieter.
Spike! How wonderful to see you!
Yeah. Gabby and I had a great day,
but I'll always still want my Rarity time.
Oh! So that's how it works.